NationStates Jolt Archive

San Castello

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh188/Indonesian_States/sancastellocrest-1.jpg

Basic Facts
Short Name(English): San Castello
Short Name(Castellian): San Castellanus
Formal Name(English): The Most Serene Holy State of the Monastary of San Castello and the Surrounding Villages of the Holy Land
Formal Name(Castellian): Plurrimi Serenus Sanctus Civitas Monasterium San Castellanus quod Amplexus Villa Sanctus Terra

National Motto: Onore a te Virtuosa
National Anthem: Veneratio quod Rectum

Capital City: Monastary of San Castello (pop. 597)
Other Cities: Romaliano (pop. 128,362), Verrucio (pop. 45,480), Athenaneum (pop. 24,991), Lugio (pop. 10,357)
Region: Greater Dienstad
Population: 320,000
Official Language: Castellan


Political Information

Government Type: Dictatorial Theocracy (OOC: that's a new one ;))
Leader: Archbishop Guisppe II

[Under Construction]

Military of San Castello

http://pro.corbis.com/images/ITL069.jpg?size=572&uid=%7BB402BCA6-0FCE-4D0B-AF99-A4008B2E896F%7D
The Holy Guard stands in formation wearing the ceremonial uniform.

According to San Castellan law, all male civilians aged 15+ are part of the Armed Forces. However, most of these soldiers are in reserve and are only called up to arms when the nation is under attack. The few volunteers of the San Castellan Armed Forces are the only soldiers that are ever deployed out of country.

The most prestigious and important of the Armed Forces is the Holy Guard. These 80 men are the ones in charge of protecting the Archbishop. A select few, about 10, are always on duty and are armed with the latest technology and equipment to do whatever necessary to protect our leader.

Basic Military Facts

Military Branches:
San Castellan Defence Force; San Castellan Army; San Castellan Aquatic Forces; The Holy Guard

Military Service Age & Obligation:
All non-disabled San Castellan men aged 15-65 are part of the San Castellan Defence Forces. Men and women aged 21+ may volunteer for the San Castellan Army or Aquatic Forces. San Castellan men with at least 5 years of military service and/or 5 years of Holy duties (ie. living in a monastary) may be recruited to the Holy Guard.

Manpower fit for Military Service:
Total: About 170,000
-Army: 2,857
-Aqatic Forces: 1,063
-Holy Guard: 80


Weapons of the Armed Forces

Defence Forces:
In time of war, all men of the defence forces are given a pistol and a rifle. The assorted weaponry such as handguns, shotguns, and rifles include...

-LugerP08 pistols

& one of the following
-Various Shotguns
-M1 Garand Rifle
-Gewher 43 Rifle

Army:
[I'll look for a store, but for now...]
-Walther P99
-SG 550 Assault Rifle
-M40 Sniper Rifle

Aquatic Forces:
[Same as Army]

Holy Guard:
-Walther P99
-Steyr AUG A1
-Ceremonial Sword
-Other Assorted Weaponry (Coming soon)

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Economy of San Castello

OOC:

well, lets see... don't have anything but wine really...

[REALLY, VERY, TOTALLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

History of San Castello

(OOC: I don't have a full history yet, but here's a little summary.)

It is unknown when the first humans came to San Castello, but there were records of small groups of light-skinned natives. A monk recorded and described thuroughly about these natives when he first saw them:

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(Translation of the diary of Monk Christianus, 410 AD)

"When we came ashore, we realized that we were not the only people in the land. There were people before us. These men and women lived in small stone huts with roofs made of hay, and in the center of thier homes was a fireplace to cook. On the edges of the stone hut was hay covered in blankets. This is where the natives slept. The village was usually consisted of around 20 huts placed randomly with the center housing the biggest hut of all, usually the chief's hut. The people were much taller than us, and much stronger. Thier hair was usually blond and somethimes brown, but always long and unkept. They wore thick fur or leather hides to protect them from the cold. The native's main occupation was fishing and hunting. The natives religion was a pagan religion, however it was a different one from our ancestors. However, they did worship someone similar to Mars. They called him 'Dar' and he was also believed to be the god of the rain. Another god that they worshiped was 'Uldim', the king of the gods. The people who we converted called our god 'Uldim' still.


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It is now widely accepted that the natives that the monks had encountered were of Norse blood, or something similar. How these Norsemen came to be so far inland, however, is unknown as most Norse peoples tend to stay near the ocean. It is possible that this group of Norse were banished from thier village near the coastline or from across the oceans some time ago. The gods that the monk mentioned were probably "Thor" and "Odin".

In 328, the first of three ships came to land in what is now Greal. These ships that came from the Roman Empire seeked to convert the people. When most of them failed by the coastline, they dispersed into the mountains, and each group of 3 or four created thier own monastary. The people inland were more friendly and they agreed to convert to Christianity. For hundreds of years the people lived in peace and isolation, until 1076.

The Barbarian Raids

The Barbarian Raids came in 1076, after hundreds of years of peace. It is not know who these people were, where they came from, or what they wanted but we do know that they killed almost a third of the 'Roman' population, which consisted of the descendants of the origional monks and the converted natives.

It is completely unknow what happened in the first attack, because according to a monk, the only two survivors of the attack came to seek refuge in the closest monastary. The men were shot by flaming arrows before they could explain what happened. For the next four years, these barbarians went from one monastary from the next, destroying everything and taking the loot, until only the most hidden were left.The survivors of the attacks all went to the San Castello monastary, the most isolated one of all. They stayed in the mountains in fear for hundreds of years.


Exploration of the Lost Land

In 1794, the Archbishop Emilio VII sent 200 men on an expedition out of the mountains to explore the lands that were destroyed by the Barbarian attacks. The men saw that the grassland below were almost completely deserted, all but a few nomads roamed the area. They proceeded to rebuild the monastaries that were in ruins, and set up towns along the river. Eventually, the Monks met Greali people, and they were afraid of another attack. The Greali, however, were kind to them and gave them help. However, in case of invasion the Monks needed to be unified. On December 24, 1825, the Serene Holy State of San Castello was created.

[STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Geography of San Castello

[OOC: I haven't been guaranteed a spot in the regional map yet, so I can only put very basic stuff here until my claim is accepted.]

Most of San Castello has mountainous terrain and many parts are inaccesable by car or train. The river Verrucio, which starts from the north-eastern part of the country, winds its way towards the east. Most of the villages and the population of San Castello reside in this river valley, which is mostly grassland with patches of forest.San Castello is a landlocked nation (it might not be when I get the map), and most of the fishing comes from the rivers and creeks.

Monastaries and small villages dot the whole nation. The largest city in San Castello, Romaliano, is located on both sides of the river Verrucio. The other major towns of Verrucio and Lugio are also situated somewhere along the river. The town of Athenaneum is in the far eastern part of the nation, closer to the ocean.


Largest Cities:
Romaliano (pop. 128,362)
Verrucio (pop. 45,480),
Athenaneum (pop. 24,991)
Lugio (pop. 10,357)

Major Rivers/Creeks:
River Verrucio
River Clara
River Aqua

Major Lakes:
Lake Athena

[Map coming soon]

Government of San Castello

Ever since the Monastary of San Castello was formed, the monks needed a leader. They created the simplest way of choosing a leader without voting. The monks called it 'the will of God'. It was very simple. A piece of parchment was cut into ten pieces. The Archbishop would then mark one with a cross. The 10 candidates would then proceed to pick the parchment. Whoever picked the piece with the cross would become Archbishop after the old one dies. This method was used until Archbishop Guisppe II came into power.

Archbishop Guisppe II came into power 15 years ago. The first thing he did was to stop the 'will of God method', which caused some controversy within the Monastary. Instead, from then on, each bishop of a province would vote for the new Archbishop. San Castello's government became somewhat democratic. However, the people still could not vote.

This does not mean that they have no rights, though. Once a month townspeople would gather in the town square to discuss things that they wanted or not wanted. The ideas were then sent to the Archbishop, who would look at the laws.

That is the political system of the nation. (OOC: not much, eh?)

[So UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Well, that's it. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or just want to comment, feel free to post below!

History has been edited

well, could anyone give me any suggestions? Is my factbook that good? lol jk, but seriously, anything to improve on?

It's fine, keep up the good work!